Method and apparatus for fabricating electronic device

ABSTRACT

Logic circuitry formed in street areas between adjacent fabricated electronic devices may be used as auxiliary or redundant components to salvage one or more otherwise defective devices. Logic circuitry is selectively coupled to the defective device(s) to directly replace or facilitate the replacement of defective components on one or more fabricated devices, thereby resulting in a single operable electronic device. The invention may be used to increase the production yield of electronic devices, particularly, semiconductor integrated circuits. The invention permits the fabrication of discretionary wiring during the normal metalization of semiconductor layers to interconnect electronic devices at the same time as the formation of the normal wiring/circuitry of the devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention is directed to the field of manufacturing electronic devices. More specifically, the invention is directed to methods and apparatus used to increase yield during fabrication of electronic devices.

[0003] 2. Description of Related Art

[0004] In order to increase the yield (i.e., the ratio of good devices to the total number of devices available) during the manufacture of electronic devices such as semiconductor integrated circuits, redundant blocks or sections (e.g., memory elements) which are substantially similar in function and/or structure to components on the electronic device are incorporated into the manufactured device. These redundant blocks can be substituted for defective blocks to salvage an otherwise inoperable device. The substitution of these redundant blocks, however, requires overhead circuitry used to test and substitute the redundant blocks. As integrated circuits become more dense, such added circuitry required to access the redundant blocks becomes excessive.

[0005] An alternative to the use of such redundant circuitry is known as “discretionary wiring.” According to this concept, a semiconductor wafer 10 (FIG. 1) contains small, similar semiconductor devices or clusters of devices 12 which are manufactured using traditional batch processing methods. Before these clusters are interconnected, however, they are tested and a map of good and bad elements 12 on the wafer 10 is created. For each wafer 10, a set of unique masks for the interconnect patterns (i.e., “discretionary wiring”) is created and metallic conductive strips 18 (FIG. 2) are fabricated on the wafer 10 to interconnect all the good elements 12 into a single functional integrated circuit.

[0006] A process that employs discretionary wiring by preparing unique masks for the interconnect layer of the semiconductor device is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,771,217 and 5,691,949. Preparing a unique interconnect pattern using a separate masking step can be a costly and time intensive operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In fabricating electronic devices using discretionary wiring to increase production yield, the invention eliminates the extra manufacturing step of preparing a unique pattern or mask to fabricate the discretionary wiring. Instead, conductive paths interconnecting electronic devices are provided at the same time as the formation of the normal wiring/circuitry of the devices. Thus, by deploying discretionary wiring during the current metalization or formation of other conductive paths during fabrication of integrated circuits, for example, the invention takes advantage of the existing mask steps used to develop the normal integrated circuit elements (e.g., DRAM capacitor, metal lines, etc.).

[0008] Logic circuitry formed in street areas between adjacent fabricated electronic devices may be used as auxiliary or redundant components to salvage one or more otherwise defective devices. In accordance with the invention, such logic circuitry is selectively coupled to the defective device(s) so as to directly replace or facilitate the replacement of defective components on one or more fabricated devices, thereby resulting in a single operable electronic device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention given below with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0010]FIG. 1 illustrates a wafer having a plurality of integrated circuit (IC) dies;

[0011]FIG. 2 illustrates a wafer having a plurality of IC dies interconnected with discretionary wiring fabricated from a separate mask layer;

[0012]FIG. 3 illustrates a semiconductor wafer constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

[0013]FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of a preferred method in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The invention will be described in detail as set forth in the preferred embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Although these embodiments depict the invention in its preferred application to the fabrication of a semiconductor memory device, the invention may be applicable to any type or configuration of semiconductor device (e.g., microprocessor, microcomputer, digital signal processor (DSP), etc.), as well as any other electronic device that encounters the same or similar problems.

[0015] The invention may best be described in relation to a preferred embodiment of the invention where it is applied to a process of manufacturing electronic devices in the form of semiconductor integrated circuits. In the exemplary embodiment discussed in detail herein, integrated circuit memories are fabricated on a wafer of silicon or other semiconductor material that may serve as a base for electronic devices. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of integrated circuit dies 12 are formed on the wafer substrate 10 in a manner well known in the art. The dies 12 are separated from each other by spaces 31, preferably, taking the form of strips of semiconductor material laid out generally in a grid or matrix of rows and columns. The spaces 31 are commonly referred to as the “street area” of the wafer.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of auxiliary components 30 are formed in the wafer street area 31. The auxiliary components 30 may be one or more logic gates or other circuit components. In the preferred embodiment, logic devices which are programmable such as programmable logic arrays (PLAs) are used. The PLAs 30 are coupled to dies 12 through conductive paths 32, which may be metal lines or some other conductive material used to facilitate the transmission of signals between dies 12 and PLAs 30.

[0017] In accordance with the invention, the discretionary wiring of the system (described above) is emulated using the conductive paths 32, PLAs 30, or both. In particular, conductive paths 32 preferably embody selective links which provide changeable interconnections which are operative to disconnect or connect PLAs 30 to dies 12. Although fuses 34, anti-fuses 36, or both, may be used as selective links in conductive paths 32, any other equivalent structure may be used for this purpose. Similar fuses 38, anti-fuses 39, or both, may be employed in PLAs 30.

[0018] A detailed description of exemplary fuses and anti-fuses that may be employed is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,324,681, assigned to Micron Technology, Inc., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Although only two selective links for conductive paths 32 and two links for PLA 30 are depicted in FIG. 3, the invention affords maximum flexibility in permitting any number (including zero) of selective links (e.g., fuses, anti-fuses, or both) to be used in conductive paths 32 and/or PLAs 30.

[0019] Referring to FIG. 4, the method of making the wafer shown in FIG. 3 is as follows. A plurality of integrated circuit components 12 (e.g., memory sections) are formed or patterned on a silicon semiconductor substrate 10 (step 40). Preferably, the plurality of dies 12 are substantially equally spaced having sufficient street area 31 formed on the wafer 10 to allow the formation of PLAs 30 and conductive paths 32 (step 42).

[0020] Each of the plurality of dies 12 is then tested using any of the known testing mechanisms in the art (step 44), and a map identifying good and bad dies 12 is created. Based on the identifying information in the map, selective links along the plurality of conductive paths 32 are blown (in the case of fusible links 24) or joined (in the case of anti-fusible links 36) to isolate the connection between defective dies 12 and corresponding PLAs 30 (step 46).

[0021] Any known technique of activating the selective links (e.g., applying voltage, current, laser beam, etc.) may be used to break or blow fuses (or join anti-fuses) so as to selectively couple/connect defective dies with auxiliary or redundant components. Having selectively coupled or connected a given defective die 12 to a corresponding PLA 30 in this manner, the corresponding PLA 30 can offer its logic circuitry (e.g., redundant memory cell) to the defective die 12 as a surrogate component that helps salvage the otherwise defective die 12.

[0022] As stated above, the logic circuitry (shown as PLA 30 in FIG. 3) may be a redundant component substantially similar to the defective component(s) of die 12 in terms of function, structure, or both. The logic circuitry 30 may also be one or more logic gates (e.g., AND gates, adders, multipliers, etc.) used to perform the same function and/or provide the structure found defective in die 12. The logic circuitry 30 may further be operable to combine the functions and/or structures of two or more otherwise defective dies 12 into a single operable device.

[0023] While the invention has been described in detail in connection with the best mode of the invention known at the time, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to the specified embodiments described. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but that are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0024] For example, the conductive paths 32 preferably coupling PLAs 30 to adjacent ones of dies 12 may also be used to couple PLAs 30 to dies 12 beyond the immediately surrounding adjacent dies 12, as shown by dashed lines 32 in FIG. 3. In addition, the fuse/anti-fuse links 34, 36 found in conductive paths 32 may be replaced (or supplemented) by fusible links 38 or anti-fusible links 39 incorporated in logic circuitry 30.

[0025] In view of the many modifications which can be made, the nature, spirit and scope of the invention is not limited by the foregoing descriptions but should only be limited by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

[0026] What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent of the United States is: 

1. A base for electronic devices, the base comprising: integrated circuits spaced apart from each other, said integrated circuits including a plurality of circuit components, at least one of said integrated circuits being defective; and at least one auxiliary component formed in a space between said integrated circuits, said auxiliary component being selectively coupled to said defective integrated circuit; wherein said auxiliary component has circuit elements for causing said defective integrated circuit to function as an operable integrated circuit.
 2. A base as in claim 1, wherein said auxiliary component is a redundant component having substantially similar function as at least one circuit component on the defective integrated circuit.
 3. A base as in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of redundant components, wherein each of said redundant components has substantially similar structure as at least one circuit component on each of said integrated circuits, and wherein each of said redundant components is formed in the space between adjacent ones of said integrated circuits.
 4. A base as in claim 3, wherein each of said redundant components include selective links connecting respective ones of said redundant components to an adjacent one of said integrated circuits.
 5. A base as in claim 4, wherein the selective links are activated to connect said defective integrated circuit to an adjacent redundant component.
 6. A base as in claim 5, wherein said redundant components are programmable arrays having anti-fuses as selective links.
 7. A base as in claim 3, wherein said auxiliary component is coupled to two defective integrated circuits, said auxiliary component including logic gates used by the two defective integrated circuits to function together as a single operable integrated circuit.
 8. A base as in claim 3, further comprising conductive paths formed on the space between adjacent ones of said integrated circuits coupling ones of said redundant components to respective ones of said integrated circuits, wherein the conductive paths include changeable interconnections used to affect transmission of signals over the conductive path.
 9. A base as in claim 8, wherein the changeable interconnections are fusible links used to disconnect the conductive path between a redundant component and at least one of its adjacent integrated circuits.
 10. A base as in claim 9, wherein the fusible links are broken by an applied voltage.
 11. A base as in claim 8, wherein the changeable interconnections are anti-fusible links between a redundant component and at least an adjacent integrated circuit.
 12. A base as in claim 8, wherein the changeable interconnections are changed to isolate conductive paths between defective integrated circuits and redundant components.
 13. A substrate for supporting one or more electronic devices: dies separated from each other by strips of semiconductor material, said dies including circuits; and at least one auxiliary component formed between said dies, said auxiliary component being selectively coupled to at least two defective dies; wherein said auxiliary component has circuit elements used by the two defective dies to operate as an electronic device.
 14. A substrate as in claim 13, wherein said auxiliary component is a redundant component having circuit elements substantially similar in function as at least one of the two defective dies to enable the two defective dies to operate when coupled to said redundant component.
 15. A substrate as in claim 14, wherein the two defective dies operate together in conjunction with said redundant component to operate as a semiconductor memory.
 16. A semiconductor wafer having a silicon substrate upon which at least one integrated circuit is formed, the semiconductor wafer comprising: discrete memory sections of integrated circuitry, said discrete memory sections being separated by street area formed in a matrix of rows and columns; discrete programmable logic arrays formed on the street area, each of said discrete programmable logic arrays being formed adjacent at least a respective one of said discrete memory sections; discretionary wires selectively connecting respective ones of said discrete programmable logic arrays to corresponding ones of said discrete memory sections, said discretionary wires extending from respective ones of said discrete memory sections to at least one of said discrete programmable logic arrays; and wherein each of said programmable logic arrays has storage circuitry redundant to respective ones of said discrete memory sections.
 17. A semiconductor wafer in accordance with claim 16, wherein each of said discretionary wires includes fusible links for selectively disconnecting certain ones of said discrete memory sections from respective ones of said discrete programmable logic arrays.
 18. A semiconductor wafer in accordance with claim 17, wherein said discretionary wires include fuses and anti-fuses for disconnecting and connecting ones of said memory sections to respective ones of said discrete programmable logic arrays.
 19. A method of fabricating electronic devices, the method comprising the steps of: patterning integrated circuits with a space between adjacent ones of the integrated circuits; forming at least one auxiliary component in said space; and selectively coupling said auxiliary component to at least one defective integrated circuit; wherein said auxiliary component has circuit elements used by the defective integrated circuit to function as an operable integrated circuit.
 20. A method of fabricating electronic devices as in claim 19, wherein said auxiliary component is a redundant logic circuit having substantially similar functions as at least one circuit component in the integrated circuits, and wherein the method further comprises the step of forming conductive paths between said redundant logic circuit and said defective integrated circuit.
 21. A method of fabricating electronic devices as recited in claim 19, further comprising the steps of forming selective links in the conductive paths, and using said links to selectively connect said redundant logic circuit to said defective integrated circuit.
 22. A method of fabricating electronic devices as recited in claim 21, further comprising the steps of forming the selective links as anti-fuses, and activating said links to complete a conductive path between said redundant logic circuit and said defective integrated circuit.
 23. A method of fabricating electronic devices as recited in claim 21, further comprising the steps of forming the selective links as fuses, that when blown, disconnect a conductive path between a redundant logic circuit and said defective integrated circuit.
 24. A method of fabricating electronic devices as recited in claim 21, further comprising the steps of forming the selective links in the redundant logic circuits which, when activated, affect the conductive path between said redundant logic circuit and said defective integrated circuit.
 25. A method of fabricating electronic devices as recited in claim 24, wherein the redundant logic circuit is a programmable logic array having fuses as selective links affecting the conductive path between the redundant logic circuit and the defective integrated circuit, the method further comprising blowing the fuses.
 26. A method of fabricating electronic devices as recited in claim 25, wherein the electronic devices are semiconductor circuits on a wafer and the fuses of the redundant logic circuit are blown using a laser.
 27. A process of manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, the process comprising the steps of: forming discrete memory sections of integrated circuitry, the discrete memory sections being separated by street area formed in a matrix of rows and columns; forming discrete programmable logic arrays on the street area, each of said discrete programmable logic arrays being formed adjacent at least a respective one of said discrete memory sections; selectively connecting respective ones of said discrete programmable logic arrays to corresponding ones of said discrete programmable logic arrays by discretionary wiring extending from respective ones of said discrete memory sections to at least one of said discrete programmable logic arrays; testing each of said discrete memory sections to determine the presence of a defect in the discrete memory sections; and replacing defective portions of said discrete memory sections with ones of said discrete programmable logic arrays operable to replace defective portions of a discrete memory section. 